Bitter Lemons

                Some time has passed since my last post and quite a lot has happened. I started work and am currently teaching a cool twelve hours of English to the 5^th grade at a private school here. The children generally speak at a high level and are as well behaved as they can be at the cusp of puberty. It has been a gentle introduction to teaching, as I only have to give three different lessons per week to four different classes. I have been told that the hours will go up, but for now I’m sitting pretty.

                Now for the good stuff, and my trip to Cyprus. First was the Kyrenia Castle, which was inhabited by your man Richard the Lionheart and the Knights Templar. That factoid was enough to get me to pay the entrance fee.

                As I started to explore the subterranean works of the castle, I stumbled upon a few unsettling models of the castle’s medieval heritage. This experience was only made worse by the energy-efficient system of lighting, which didn’t allow you to see the room until you were well inside. You can imagine my surprise (and girlish squeal) upon finding this:

                The real reason I went to the island had more to do with sun and sand than flayed and bearded wax statues, so I’ll give you a taste of my days spent at the beach and on the boat.

                The water was gorgeous, and it was a real shame to see plastic bags, water bottles, and cans filling up parts of the beach and the coastline. I don’t know if it’s Turkish culture, lack of infrastructure or what, but respect for nature was totally absent.

                My favorite part of the trip was the morning I spent at Bellapais Abbey, made famous by Lawrence Durrell’s “Bitter Lemons,” a novel about the Greco-Turkish conflict that today is manifested in the green line, which separates northern (Turkish) Cyprus from the south. I stood under Durrell’s “Tree of Idleness” while waiting… and waiting… and waiting for a cab:

               

                Here’s the abbey itself:

                I was made aware of the unintended side-effects of my Jesuit education when I entered the chapel and was able to recognize most of the icons by sight. There was good ol’ Georgie:

                Pauly D? (that's what the tour guide said, but I'm used to the younger, Mr. Tumnus-looking Paul):

                Mike ("The Situation"):

                And of course the big three:

                This was my first solo vacation, and I have to say it’s a much different experience. At first I felt awkward as a loner surrounded by tour groups, but by the third day it felt perfectly normal. Had it been a vacation from school, it probably would have been more welcome, but as it was I went from being isolated in Istanbul to alone in Cyprus. On the up side, going out on your own makes you realize the importance and the startling rarity of good friends.